The 2015 Salmon Leap Festival

The Salmon Leap Festival is a new folk and traditional music celebration taking place Friday 29 – Sunday 31 May 2015 at The Salmon Leap Inn, Leixlip, Ireland! The website was created to promote the 2015 festival. After the festival the domain's registration was allowed to expire and this site disappeared from the web.I did not want someone else to purchase the domain and re-purpose the site for something that had nothing in common with the the Salmon Leap Inn and its festival. I happened to be renting a condo on Maui when I discovered that the salmonleapfestival.com's domain was available. Maui is certainly quite a distance from Ireland, that's for sure. In Maui most people rent condos at any number of resorts rather than staying in a hotel, The convenience of being able to cook your meals and have more space than would be available in a hotel room make a condo rental very attractive. I had an amazing view from the outside deck which they call a Lanai. I was in Maui to attend a wedding and spent a couple of more weeks on the exotic island for R&R. I lucked out and was there during the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festivals that had its early beginnings in 1982. It's been an annual event for over 21 years. If you are not familiar with this type of music, Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, or KÄ« HÅ’alu, is an approach to playing (generally acoustic but sometimes electric) guitar based on the following 2 characteristics:tuning and technique. The strings are tuned relative to each other so that when strummed open (without fretting) the final result is a CHORD. Once tuned, or slacked, the picking hand undertakes the action of self-accompaniment with the thumb performing an alternating bass line. This is an essential element to slack key in its pure form. This is what makes the guitar sound like multiple guitars, and it is very hard to do. Meanwhile the fingers executing the primary melody of the piece. Both thumb and pointer finger occasionally impart a faux rhythm, to infer the illusion of an accompanying background strumming rhythm guitar. The combination of these 3 parts played simultaneously on a single guitar in slacked or “open” tuning is what comprises the basic approach to guitar known as Hawaiian Slack Key. Sorry for that digression, but the music and they way the guitar playing technique was intriguing. So, I bought the domain when it became available. The page below is recreated from its achieved pages. If you happen to discover salmonleapfestival.com and want to know about the current festival plans go to the Salmon Leap Inn's Facebook page:www.facebook.com/salmonleapinn/.

Since the site will not be exactly as you remember it, please be indulgent.

Now let's take a nostalgic stroll back to the 2015 Salmon Leap Festival.

As well as amazing Irish acts, this year’s festival will feature a family zone and artisan market!, EddiReader and many more! For full line-up click here

Early bird tickets for the festival are priced at €30 per day or €65 for the weekend including booking fee and are on sale now! Click here to buy tickets!

The Salmon Leap Inn is one of Ireland’s oldest music pubs and was a long-time music landmark and top over on the road west. A family pub, the Inn has roots in Annascaul Co. Kerry, home of the world famous explorer Tom Crean.

The Salmon Leap Festival takes us back to our roots, exploring wonderful music and heritage!

INFORMATION

General Information

The Salmon Leap Music Festival will take place in the Salmon Leap Inn from 29 – 31 May 2015. The festival will take place in the grounds of the venue. The pub itself will remain open to members of the public throughout the festival.

You must be aged 18 or over to attend this event with the exception of children aged 12 and under. Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. This is limited to a maximum number of two children per adult.

This is a no camping festival.
R.O.A.R – ID Required
Accepted forms of ID are: Passport | Drivers licence | Garda age cards
Please note that patrons are not permitted to bring alcohol into this event.

Ticketing Information

All tickets must be exchanged for a wristband upon first entry. Any duplicate tickets will be identified when scanned and confiscated with the possessor being expelled.

Parking

There is no parking available at the Salmon Leap Inn. Limited parking is available at the Springfield Hotel which is within walking distance of the festival.

Getting There From Dublin

BY CAR

Travel along the M50 until you reach junction 7 for N/M4. Continue on N4 until you reach exit 5 for Leixlip / Celbridge. Continue on the R403 until you reach a roundabout. Take the first exit onto the R148. Continue on R148 until you reach the Salmon Leap Inn on left hand side.

BY TRAIN

You can travel by train to either Louisa Bridge or Confey train stations in Leixlip. Confey train station is closest to the festival and only 10 minutes walking distance. Timetables are available here

BY BUS

You can travel on the 66 bus from Merrion Square to Leixlip. The bus stop is located right beside the venue. The 66 A/B/X also travel to Leixlip. Bus stops vary but are all within a 10 minute walk of the venue. Timetables are available here

Accommodations

There are a number of hotels and B&B’s within the town of Leixlip and surrounding area that can provide accommodation to festival goers. Please find accommodation options below:

THE HEADLINER ACTS

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Luka Bloom

With a poet’s heart and a rockster’s soul, Luka Bloom is regarded as one of Ireland’s bestrespected contemporary folk artists, having produced 20 albums since the 1970s, Bloom continues to push the boundaries of what his music can do, and the 2012/13 Heartman Tour proves he is still making provocative, poetic music that delves deep into the intricacies of the human soul and pulls out the nuggets and puts them in a song.

Luka Bloom has the power to bring audiences to a hush as his poetic lyrics bounce over melodies in a beautiful, captivating way. The same artist can rouse the spirit of the audience to the ceiling when he changes the tempo. His latest tour Heartman has been coupled with the release of the new album This New Morning which features songs such as You Survive and leave an everlasting message of strength and a celebration of the will and power of us mere humans.

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Damien Dempsey

Damien Dempsey is a Dublin-born, multiple Meteor-winning singer songwriter, and one of Ireland’s foremost and most revered contemporary recording artists. Ever since breaking into the limelight with Seize The Day in 2003, right up to 2012’s Almighty Love – whether he’s playing an intimate acoustic solo set, or rocking a stadium with full band in tow – worldwide critical and audience acclaim have followed wherever Damo has played whether it be Dublin’s Vicar St, The Sydney Opera House, London’s Shepherds Bush Empire etc.

He is one of Ireland’s most important figures to day and isn’t any wonder while he is heralded by so many musicians including Morrissey, Sinead O’Connor, Christie Moore and U2 (who are quoted on BBC2 saying is Bono died Damo would be the only singer to replace him). www.damiendempsey.com

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Mundy

Mundy released his debut album Jellylegs in 1996 on the Epic Records label. The album included the song “To You I Bestow”, which was featured on the best-selling soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann‘s film adaptation Romeo + Juliet.

In 2000, Mundy was dropped by Epic while working on his second album, The Moon is a Bullethole, which was about to be recorded. Although a four-trackEP of that title was released, much of the material for the cancelled album was eventually incorporated into 24 Star Hotel, Mundy’s 2002 album.

24 Star Hotel was released on Camcor Records, a label Mundy himself set up, primarily funded by his royalties from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. Camcor Records is named for the River Camcor, a popular fishing spot, which runs through the town of Birr. The album contained the song “July”, an ode to the joys of the Irish summer, which gained heavy airplay throughout the summer months, and is, for Irish audiences at least, Mundy’s signature tune. Along with “July” the album contained “Mexico” and with both receiving extensive radio play and some huge Irish festival appearances, 24 Star Hotel has gone on to triple platinum status in Ireland. He afterwards guested with Lucinda Williams in Ireland.

In 2003 Mundy also contributed to Afro Celt Sound System‘s album Seed, and to Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 1 with a cover version of the Shakira song Whenever, Wherever, with the two words in the title switched around.

In May 2004, Mundy released his third album, Raining Down Arrows, recorded with producer Mark Addison at The Aerie studio in Austin, Texas. It entered the Irish album chart at number 1. The album has since gone platinum in Ireland. He toured the UK with songwriting legend Jimmy Webb and continued to win over Irish audiences whilst making UK appearances with Richard Hawleyand gaining Irish support slots with The White Stripes and Oasis.

In 2006 Mundy recorded a live album and DVD called Live & Confusion at Vicar Street, Dublin. It contains all his best-known songs such as “Gin & Tonic Sky”, “Mexico”, “July”, “To You I Bestow”, “By Her Side” and “Love & Confusion”. The album also contained an encore of “Galway Girl“, a Steve Earle penned song that Sharon Shannon had recorded with the author years before. The live version became a download hit in Ireland, and eventually a studio version was released, after it was popularised in a television and radio advertising campaign for Bulmer’s cider.[1] The studio version of the track reached number 1 in the Irish Singles Chart in April 2008 and stayed there for five weeks. It became the biggest single in Ireland two years in a row in 2007 and 2008.[2] Mundy also recorded an Irish language version of the track, entitled Cailín na Gaillimhe, for Ceol ’08, an Irish languagecompilation album released in 2008 to raise money for several Irish charities. Two years before, Mundy recorded an Irish-language version of his song “Mexico”, entitled “Meicsiceo” for Ceol ’06.[3] Ceol ’06 reached the Top 10 in the Irish Album Chart.

In 2008 Mundy continually guested with Sharon Shannon’s Big Band alongside Damien Dempsey and Shane MacGowan, turning up at The Glastonbury Festival as well as touring Ireland and the UK.

In 2009 Mundy recorded his fourth studio album, Strawberry Blood, with Irish producer Joe Chester, and mixed a number of tracks with UK producer Andy Bradfield. The album featured contributions from Shane MacGowan and Gemma Hayes and was released worldwide on iTunes with a bonus download video. He guested with The Cardigans‘ Nina Persson‘s A Camp project at the Academy in Dublin, and 2009 saw him tour Ireland, Australia and the UK. The album went into the Irish charts at No.14.[4]

Mundy is the cousin of former Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright and the nephew of former TD and Senator Tom Enright.

Camcor Records is an independent record label founded by Mundy after he departed from Epic Records (Sony BMG) in 2000, four years after his first album. The company takes its name from the Camcor River, which flows through Mundy’s hometown of Birr,County Offaly, Ireland. It is sometimes listed as “Camcor Recording” in industry publications.

Mundy has released three albums on the label: his second album, 24-Star Hotel, which has sold more than 25,000 copies in Ireland; his third album, the platinum-selling Raining Down Arrows; and more recently the live album Live & Confusion.

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KILA

The band’s first gig was upstairs in the Baggott Inn, Dublin, a gig that was attended by three people.The original lineup for the band was Eoin Dillon (uilleann pipes), Colm Mac Con Iomaire (fiddle), Rossa Ó Snodaigh (whistle, bones), Rónán Ó Snodaigh (bodhrán), Karl Odlum (bass), and David Odlum (guitar). Colm Ó Snodaigh, the brother of Rónán and Rossa, joined the band before the first recordings were made. Rónán, Rossa, and Colm Ó Snodaigh are sons of publisher Pádraig Ó Snodaigh and artist Cliodna Cussen and are brothers of Irish TD, Aengus Ó Snodaigh.

In 1991, Colm Mac Con Iomaire and Dave Odlum left Kíla to join The Frames, an Irish rock band. In the same year, Dee Armstrong and Eoin O’Brien joined the band as replacements. Dave Reidy also joined as a lead guitarist, though he emigrated to San Francisco a year later. Karl was then replaced by Ed Kelly on bass who emigrated to Scotland a little over a year after the recording Mind the Gap in 1994. Eoin O’Brien was replaced byLance Hogan. Laurence O Keefe filled in temporarily on bass until Brian Hogan assumed that position prior to recording Tóg É Go Bog É.

In 2003, in a review of their album Luna Park, Kíla’s blend of Irish traditional music and world music with a modern rock sensibility was credited with breathing new life into contemporary Irish folk music.

In 2009, Donegal guitarist Seanan Brennan joined the band to replace Lance who was on a sabbatical. He has remained with the band since then bringing an electric guitar to the line up for the first time since Eoin O’Brien was a member. He made his first appearance with Kíla in early January of that year on a televised version of Leath ina Dhiaidh a hOcht.

In 2008 Kíla recorded “The Ballad of Ronnie Drew” with U2, Shane MacGowan, Glen Hansard, Damien Dempsey, The Dubliners and a host of other artists. With proceeds going to The Irish Cancer Society, the single spent two weeks on top of the Irish Singles Chart. The song was later included on a U2.com-only album of collaborations that U2 recorded with other artists – Duals (2012).

Kíla have played at many festivals around the world, including Dún Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures, Electric Picnic, Womadelaide, Glastonbury, Féile an Dóilín, St. Chartier and the Stockholm Water Festival. All members of the group participate in composing and arranging Kíla’s songs. they have also performed at student events such as the NUIG Arts Ball in 2010, the biggest event of its kind in Ireland.

The band collaborated with French composer Bruno Coulais on the soundtrack of The Secret of Kells, an animated film by the Irish studio Cartoon Saloon. The film was nominated for bestanimated film at the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010. That same year their music was heavily featured in two other feature films – Maeve Murphy’s controversial Beyond the Fire and Ciarán O’Connor’s Trafficked. Kíla’s music also features in the award-winning documentary film Fight or Flight.

In late 2011, Kíla published their long awaited Book of Tunes. Comprising over 100 of their compositions and lavishly decorated with photos, poems & prose, the book was a huge success, being described as ‘a masterpiece’ by Seán Laffey from Irish Music Magazine. The publication of the book ended a fine year for Kíla in style. Through this year they played three sell-out shows in Harare, Zimbabwe at the HIAFA festival, played at the Possibilities conference that welcomed the Dalai Lama to Ireland and played the inaugural concert in Temple Bar Meeting House Square, under the elegant retractable canopies, two days before Christmas.